Followers

Wednesday, 18 January 2017

'There is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with children. There is no duty more important than ensuring that their rights are respected, that their welfare is protected, and that their lives are free from fear and want.' ~ Kofi Annan

In an ideal world, all children would feel safe and happy at school. Sadly, especially if recent news stories are anything to go by, this is not the reality.

Education is key when it comes to dealing with unacceptable behaviours, and as a teacher and lyricist, I felt prompted to create a teaching resource for this purpose.

My colleague, Kathryn Radloff worked her usual magic with the music, and the result is'Bully-Free Zone!', a whole school, curriculum-aligned song that provides a non-threatening, positive behaviours approach to dealing with this serious issue.

Here's a preview sample of the downloadable, read, sing & learn along CURRICULUM KARAOKE™ version of the song:

'Bullying is an ongoing misuse of power in relationships through repeated
verbal, physical and/or social behaviour that causes physical and/or
psychological harm. It can involve an individual or a group misusing their
power over one or more persons. Bullying can happen in person or online,
and it can be obvious (overt) or hidden (covert).'

Have you ever felt bullied?

Bullying is nothing new - it has certainly been going on for as long as I can remember.

My first experience of this type of behaviour was way back in the ‘olden days’, when, as a 10 year old, I became what is known as an ‘immigrant’.

My family (Mum, Dad, three sisters, brother, and I) had farewelled all of our family, friends and neighbours in Ireland and England, and set sail for our new life in Australia, where Dad was to take up a teaching post as Head of English Department in a country high school.

Migrants were still rather a novelty in country NSW in those days, and certain students in my new school saw my minority status as an open invitation to tease, ridicule, and humiliate 'the new kid on the block’.

They repeatedly mimicked my accent, made fun of my English clothing and whatever Mum had put in my lunchbox for the day, and excluded me from their games. I began to hate going to school.

It was a very lonely, distressing, and unhappy time (until they got to know me and we became friends), and to this day, I still cringe whenever I recall the time that the nun on duty at playtime rang the bell to command the other children to include me in their games!

Bullying, then, is nothing new, however, what is new is the frequency with which we are hearing about this behaviour, and the alarming rate at which it appears to be escalating, in our schools and wider society. I talk more about this in a radio interview, after a video of a school playground bullying incident went viral, a few years ago.

Bullying occurs in many different forms - from verbal, emotional, and racist bullying, to psychological, physical, and the now, all-too-prevalent, modern day phenomenon, cyber bullying – but one thing is for certain, whatever form it takes, it is never OK!Mahatma Gandhi once stated that,

'If we want to create lasting peace, we must begin with the children.'

There is great wisdom in this, and education is key.

Parents, schools and wider communities have major roles to play in helping to achieve this. We do it by:

Creating and promoting peaceful, safe, and secure environments for children

Modelling positive behaviours built on mutual respect, trust, and empathy

Setting very clear behaviour expectations and guidelines

Helping children to understand and take responsibility for their own behaviour and consequences of their own actions

Providing children with coping strategies for dealing with distressing behaviours, if and when they arise.

Looking back with adult eyes, I’m sure the behaviour of that handful of students from my school stemmed more from fear of difference and a lack of understanding than from any conscious malice on their part.

Hence, my decision to tackle the issue of school bullying head-on, in a way that would make it easy for children to understand ~ the non-threatening, effective medium of song.

I drew on my own childhood and teaching experiences to create the lyrics which address various types of unacceptable behaviours, including the ever-increasing cyber bullying ~ with an emphasis on the right of every child to feel safe and protected.

We are very grateful for the support of a wonderful local primary school principal, Mrs Terri Paterson who, together with the parent body, graciously allowed us to work with and record some of their children on the song’s chorus, and to record a student assembly performance video of 'Bully-Free Zone!' with an introduction by older students - children teaching children!Sample Lyrics:

Intro.Attention, please!May I have your attention, please!This is a bully-free zone!I repeat, a bully-free zone!No bullying will be tolerated in this school,It's a bully-free zone!Verse 2Everyone is valued here and all must be protected.Negative behaviour at all times will be rejected!Trying to annoy someone does not build good relations,It's a form of what is known as private space invasion.ChorusBullying is not OK - no way! It's never a solution;Deal with problems as they rise, with conflict resolution.Caring isn't optional, it's what we all expect;Everyone is welcome here, but bullying, we reject!

“Students from St Kieran's Catholic Primary School have been involved in the recording of this Keystone Creations song which promotes a positive behaviours/values approach to the serious issue of bullying.The song lyrics and catchy chorus, 'Bullying is NOT OK - NO WAY!' help students to understand and address this unacceptable behaviour.”(Mrs Terri Paterson, Principal)

We are very proud of the students, who took ownership of the message, some even going as far as writing to a local newspaper to tell of their experience, and to urge other schools to become bully-free zones:

As a teacher, I use this positive behaviours song with students, to kick start discussion about unacceptable behaviours and methods available to students, for resolving conflict.

We unpack the song lyrics line by line, defining and clarifying words, then sing the song through a couple of times. We've included a verse about cyber bullying for older students, who enjoy creating their own slogans, which can then be used in assembly performances, as they reinforce and spread the whole school message ~ 'Bullying is NOT OK - NO WAY!'

‘Bullying is a problem borne of dysfunction whereby the perpetrator and the victim are caught in a negative cycle of fear and control. We, as caretakers and educators have a duty to interrupt this cycle and facilitate change through early education and intervention. This song, 'Bully-Free Zone!' addresses the issues in a positive, child-friendly way. It not only provides strategies to help empower the victim, but also raises awareness and accountability in the perpetrator.’ ~ Eileen Condell, Psychotherapist

Thursday, 12 January 2017

‘When ancient opinions and rules of life are taken away, the loss cannot possibly be estimated. From that moment, we have no compass to govern us, nor can we know distinctly to what port to steer.’ ~ Edmund Burke (1729-1797)

Rules are the mark of any civilized society.

Children are not born knowing rules, they learn these by degrees - rules of the home, the family car, public transport, public places, sports grounds, places of worship, and so on.

School communities are no exception. School and classroom rules exist to ensure harmony for all, serving as a reminder that, among other things, teachers have a right to teach and students have a right to learn - in a happy, safe, and secure environment.

When it comes to protecting the rights of the members belonging to these learning communities, the rules and responsibilities, as well as the consequences for not adhering to these, need to be clearly stated, understood and respected.

(Part of the chorus lyrics from 'Our Class Rules ~ OK!' song)

Children learn in many different ways – I’m a huge fan of helping them to learn through song - if it can be learned, it can be sung, and vice versa.

Music is not only highly effective for motivating and engaging young learners, but, because it activates different parts of the brain, it is also invaluable for aiding recall - ensuring that lyrical content will have more chance of being remembered.

With that in mind, I wrote some basic classroom rules and behaviours, in lyrical form, which, together with colleague, Kathryn Radloff's, catchy melody, help students to learn, remember, and take responsibility for classroom rules and behaviours – through the enjoyable medium of song.

I, myself, use ‘Our Class Rules ~ OK!’in schools, to establish and reinforce classroom practices, and my daughter, TNT (The New Teacher) reports using the song throughout the school day, as a handy point of reference.

TNT tells me that she has only to mention a line from the song, and students are reminded of correct/safe classroom behaviour and practices (e.g. chair legs on floor; hands up in the air; point scissors to the ground…).

Sometimes, a quizzical look in their direction is all it takes, for students to remember the rule – enabling them to take personal responsibility for their own safety and that of others within the classroom.

Below, you will find sample song lyrics and a few tips and suggestions for using this, or any other song about classroom rules:

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About Me

Hello, and welcome to my SING TO LEARN blog! I’m an experienced, 'vintage' teacher who has always sung with my students (still do!). My colleague, Kathryn Radloff and I now write and publish the curriculum-aligned songs (& lesson materials) that I've always wanted to use myself - in fact, now I DO! :-)
This blog is born of many years of experience in the field, and a firm belief that children not only LOVE to SING but that they also LEARN what they sing!
This belief fostered in me a passion for helping students learn curriculum-aligned content THROUGH song! Our curriculum-aligned songs are professionally produced, and target outcomes & learning sequences of curriculum documents. They engage and motivate students, while supporting and integrating classroom learning across key subject areas. There's 'A Lesson in Every Lyric'®.
I look forward to sharing and learning with you on this journey!
Yours in SINGING to learn,
Nuala (ツ) ♫
Nuala O'Hanlon, B. Ed; Cert. Teach; APRA/AMCOS Full Writer Member
**WEBSITE: www.keystonecreations.com.au
**TPT Store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Keystone-Creations-Educational-Songs